If you happen to be bundled up in Pasadena on New Year’s morning, prepare for an unusual voyage—not on a ship, but down the familiar stretch of Colorado Boulevard. There, among the high-stepping bands and prancing equestrians, a 55-foot-long, 21-foot-high replica of Princess Cruises’ newest star, the Star Princess, will glide past in a bloom-laden pageant of Alaskan splendor. The float, part of the 137th Rose Parade on January 1, 2026, is the cruise line’s floral ode to the Inside Passage, set to herald its West Coast debut and maiden Alaska season.
“This is our way of sharing the wonder of Alaska with millions of viewers,” said Marie Lee, Princess Cruises Chief Marketing Officer, noting that the float pays homage both to the ship and the crews and Alaskans who bring each voyage to life. If you’re listening carefully, Lee added, you might catch a nostalgic nod to the line’s days on The Love Boat, when millions first dreamed of ocean-going adventures.
The float’s designers at Artistic Entertainment Services have taken their inspiration seriously. Towering glaciers shimmer in icy blues, bald eagles soar above, humpback whales spout, bears clutch salmon, and a moose surveys its terrain—all crafted from more than 300,000 fresh flowers, seeds, bark, and natural elements. The animation is subtle but precise: whales rise from icy waters, sea otters frolic, eagles lift skyward. The effect, the press release notes, is “a breathtaking sense of wonder and realism.”
Star Princess herself is represented faithfully in miniature. The 177,800-ton, 4,300-guest ship boasts venues such as The Dome, a next-generation entertainment and relaxation space, and the sphere-shaped Piazza with its impressive ocean vistas. In real life, she will sail weekly seven-day Inside Passage cruises roundtrip from Seattle from May through September 2026, part of Princess’ largest-ever Alaska season featuring eight ships, 180 departures, and 19 destinations.
The Rose Parade, of course, has long been a showcase of pageantry and florals, with an audience of roughly 800,000 along the route and more than 28 million watching on television. (Hey, did you know that in India, the Rose Parade airs in the summer? Yup.) Princess Cruises, Los Angeles’ “hometown cruise line,” is the latest in a century-long parade of floats that blend artistry, storytelling, and spectacle.
“Princess embodies the spirit of the parade by inspiring travel and connecting guests to memorable destinations,” said Mark Leavens, president of the 2026 Pasadena Tournament of Roses.
For onlookers, the float is more than a preview of a summer cruise; it is a distilled fantasy of the Last Frontier itself: glaciers, wildlife, and sweeping landscapes rendered in living, fragrant detail. One imagines that if you squint, you can almost hear the ship’s horn echoing over the Pacific Northwest, or see the frosted tips of the Inside Passage rising above the crowd.
Meanwhile, for one morning in Pasadena, Alaska sails not from Seattle, but from floral finery down Colorado Boulevard.
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